April 21, 2006

Latest bird flu news

A 21-year-old migrant worker has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in China, the country's 12th human fatality from the disease since November, the government said Friday.

The man, identified only by the surname Lai, died Wednesday at a hospital in the central city of Wuhan, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing health officials.

The government hasn't said how Lai was exposed to the virus. China has suffered dozens of flu outbreaks in poultry, prompting the government to destroy millions of chickens, ducks and other birds that contain the virus.

Lai became ill on April 1 and was hospitalized with a fever and pneumonia. He was confirmed Monday to have the H5N1 strain.

Elsewhere, two wild swans found dead in France earlier this week tested positive for H5N1. A new poultry outbreak was discovered in Pakistan. In Denmark an airplane was briefly quarantined when a passanger was suspected of being infected with H5N1 (turned out to be a false alarm). Finally, the WHO cleared a Sudanese poultry farmer suspected of having contacted bird flu.

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A 21-year-old migrant worker has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in China, the country's 12th human fatality from the disease since November, the government said Friday.

The man, identified only by the surname Lai, died Wednesday at a hospital in the central city of Wuhan, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing health officials.

The government hasn't said how Lai was exposed to the virus. China has suffered dozens of flu outbreaks in poultry, prompting the government to destroy millions of chickens, ducks and other birds that contain the virus.

Lai became ill on April 1 and was hospitalized with a fever and pneumonia. He was confirmed Monday to have the H5N1 strain.

Elsewhere, two wild swans found dead in France earlier this week tested positive for H5N1. A new poultry outbreak was discovered in Pakistan. In Denmark an airplane was briefly quarantined when a passanger was suspected of being infected with H5N1 (turned out to be a false alarm). Finally, the WHO cleared a Sudanese poultry farmer suspected of having contacted bird flu.